Blood Ties 2: The Truth in Twilight
by Ria Lucas AKA Xayian
Summary: REVISED AND REPOSTED. This takes place preseason 6 Mulder's 'sister' is back. Can she and Scully save him before it's too late?
1. Chapter 1

**Title - Blood Ties 2-The Truth in Twilight**

**Author – rialucas**

**Rating - PG**

**Classification – X**

**Summary:** Mulder's sister is back and teams up with Scully to save Mulder's life.

The question is . . . will they be able to save him in time? Slight MSR/Angst

**Disclaimer:** The X-Files® belongs to Chris Carter and Ten Thirteen Productions and are simply used in this story to make it more interesting. There was no profit sought in the making of this story. Nor were any animals hurt in the writing this story.

The Truth in Twilight 

She woke with a start. It had been the same nightmare that she'd been having every night for the past week. Sometimes, when the nightmare would begin, she would find herself running down a dark hallway. It would be as if she were moving in slow motion. Moving, yet, not moving. Desperately trying to get to him before it was too late. Hearing him call out to her as if she were his last hope. There were other times, though, when she would make it to his side, but would not be able to touch him. Finding that he was trapped in a glass coffin, screaming for her to get him out. Yet, with all her power, she was truly powerless against the force that held him. And, always, the dreadful, inevitable outcome was the same; Mulder was dying.

Had it been just a year since she had last seen him? The family that she had never known. A man she had come to call 'brother.' Yet, by definition, she was not his true 'sister.' Their relationship was so complicated that she sometimes found it hard to fathom, even though she had lived with the reality of her situation her whole life. She had grown up knowing that she was not a product of natural conception. A clone, but not a clone. She was a product of both human and alien DNA. The result of an experiment conducted by The Syndicate.

She wasn't quite sure how they had come by Mulder's DNA, but she had her suspicions. She believed that they had acquired it when he was just a boy. Possibly at the same time his true sister was taken from him. She had never been sure, but her age in respect to him seemed to support this.

They had used his DNA in order to create her, one of the first successes of their hybrid program. Designed to exhibit the strengths of both races. She had developed a minor morphing ability that allowed her to alter her appearance, changing the length and color of her hair, alter her skin tone and, time permitting, vary her features slightly. It was nothing as drastic as the Hunters were capable of, but enough to make a person doubt their eyes. She had also developed some unexpectedly new talents. She was able to tap into the electromagnetic spectrum that continuously flowed through and around her. Viewing things that had happened in a room by tapping into the energy "echoes" left behind. She could also channel energy, taking it in then redirecting it towards the target of her own choosing. And finally, psychic projection. She had discovered the last by chance. It was a discovery that would prove most memorable for a certain cancer-sucking bastard.

However, there was another side effect that she hadn't counted on. One she was sure that The Syndicate hadn't considered. She discovered, with continued use, her power became stronger, but with each use she became weaker. It was evident a year ago when she first channeled a massive amount of energy to destroy one of The Syndicate's buildings. She had collapsed then, and at the time she had thought it due to the drugs they had given her; and in part it was.

Since that day she had been practicing, using an old generator that she had repaired, in an abandoned warehouse. It would take awhile for her to really charge up, but it could generate enough power for her to work with. She would practice absorbing and re-channeling energy in small amounts so that she could gauge how much control she actually had. It was on one occasion, after having practiced for several hours, that she decided to see if she could again channel a large amount of energy. When she tried it that time, she had held onto the energy longer and was able to channel it into the building she used, so that instead of destroying the building, she powered it. However, the drain on her system was greater than before and she passed out for what seemed like hours, though it was just a few minutes.

At first she had thought that this was due to the fact that she had spent the whole day practicing, but after allowing herself a day's rest, she tried it again with the same result. It was then that she started using an electrocardiograph to monitor the bioelectric currents that ran through her heart and nervous system and an electroencephalograph to monitor those that flowed through her brain.

**Something**, she berated herself, **I should have been using from the beginning**.

It was then confirmed. Taking in all that energy drastically increased her bioelectric output to all the cells in her body. After doing several blood tests on herself, before and after each practice session, she discovered that cell replication had drastically increased as cell life decreased in respect to the amount of power that she channeled. The end result was that her body was being worn down. She was suffering the effects of aging without experiencing much of the appearance of doing so. Or so she thought. She began to realize that her body was instinctively trying to compensate for the changes. It must have been why her morphing ability had always been limited. Her body was trying to adapt to what was happening within. Trying to keep her young. If she continued to channel large amounts of energy she would reach a point where her body would be too exhausted to keep up. The next time she blacked out she may not ever wake up.

She didn't know how much time she had left. She could probably live a long life if she stopped altogether, but she knew that, given her life style, that was not likely to happen. It was for this reason, she knew that she would have to find Mulder before it was too late.


	2. Chapter 2

May 22

FBI Headquarters

One week earlier. . .

Mulder had just walked in the door as Scully finished typing their report. He was tired and frustrated, and so was she. They hadn't run across a really X-Filish case for the past month. The cases they had been investigating had been one hoax after another. It seemed that all the practical jokers and con artists had decided to come out at once. The cases went from cows found on rooftops to a group of young men saying that aliens abducted them for two days; forced to perform strange and moronic rituals, which wiped out all sense of individuality and fostered the caveman mentality. They discovered that the cows were a rancher's attempt to devalue a rival's herd and the so called 'abductees' were pledges in a fraternity who were told to lie so that their 'Big

Brothers' chapter wouldn't get suspended for hazing.

With the current state that they were in, anything would have been better than being submerged in the world of corporate fraud and the college boys' need for a scapegoat; even if it meant investigating the Mexican goat sucker thing again. Mulder approached Scully, case in hand, with what she was certain would be another example of a lonely person's futile attempt for attention and notoriety.

"What is it this time, Mulder?" Scully asked, taking off her glasses. "Wait. Let me guess. Mutant psychic lives in twin brother's stomach."

"Close but no cigar, Scully," Mulder replied, as he plopped down on the side of her desk. "It's a mutant psychic dog that communicates with the dead."

"You're not suggesting that we actually take the time to investigate that, are you?" Scully asked, giving Mulder 'the look.' There were times, though she'd never admit it, when she wasn't sure if he were joking or not.

"Don't worry, Scully," Mulder replied with a smile. "It's the weekend. You can go home, relax, and do whatever it is you do when your mind is not consumed with thoughts of me." That last comment got him a playful shove off the desk. "Seriously though, you don't have to go. I was referred to the Seattle office to work on a possible kidnapping. Apparently we're not the only ones that believe it's been slow down here. It seems Skinner thinks that I need extra work to keep me busy and out of his hair. What little he has." He smiled. "It shouldn't take more than a day or two, at the most three. I've already reviewed the case and it seems pretty straightforward. I think that it's just another rich kid's attempt to gain some attention from his parents."

"Oh, I bet that will be fun," Scully said, returning his smile. "Thanks, Mulder. I need a break from the eyestrain anyway. After all, I seem to always be the one stuck with the paper work," she said, giving Mulder the eye. "Why is that I wonder?"

"Why, Scully, whatever do you mean?"

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

May 29

6:00 PM

Dana Scully's Apartment

The doorbell sounded as Scully walked into her living room. It was followed by an impatient knock. The day had been long and tedious, catching up with reports, typing up field notes, and trying to make some headway into organizing the office. So when she heard the doorbell, she was more than a bit annoyed at having her evening of relaxation interrupted. Her social life being what it was, she couldn't imagine who could be knocking at her door.

"Who is it?" she called, as she moved to the peephole. Looking out, she was totally surprised at who she saw standing there. The last time Scully had seen the woman was when she had left her and Mulder standing in his hotel room. That was about a year ago. The last place she would have expected to see Fox again was on her doorstep.

"Agent Scully," Fox greeted Scully as the door swung open. "It's been a long time. May I come in?"

Scully could tell that something was wrong. It was nothing in her appearance, for on the few occasions that Scully had been around her, Fox had always maintained some modicum of control over her emotions. It was just a feeling that she had. She was sure that, whatever the reason Fox had come out of hiding, it had something to do with Mulder.

"What is it, Fox?" she asked, standing aside. "Of all the people you could have contacted, I would have thought you would be contacting Mulder, not me. So what's going on?"

"First off, call me 'Alyssa.' After using 'Fox' for a while, I began to understand why Mulder disliked being called by his first name. I use it as my last name now."

Before Scully could reply to that, her phone began to ring. She would have ignored it had she not felt compelled to answer it. "Scully," she answered.

"Agent Scully?" She recognized the voice as belonging to Assistant Director Walter Skinner. This was definitely a night for surprises, and with each surprise her anxiety increased. There was only one reason for Skinner to call, and that was Mulder.

"Agent Scully, I need you to fly out to Washington on the next available flight."

"Has something happened to Mulder?" she asked, interrupting the AD.

"Agent Scully," Skinner paused, "Mulder's missing. I just heard from an agent at the Seattle office, who had been contacted by a local rental agency when Mulder failed to turn in his car. The service agent had become concerned when he accessed the car's transmitter and noted the location; he then relayed the location to an Agent Joy Bakke at the Seattle field office. His car was found just a few miles east of a town called Skykomish, on Interstate 2. Agent Bakke notified me that Mulder had mentioned something about investigating some sightings. She'd forgotten all about it until the rental agency called."

"He'd called me and said he'd be staying out there to do that. He said that I didn't need to come out for it. I should have gone anyway." Scully berated herself for not going. Knowing how Mulder tended to get himself into trouble, she should have known better.

"Don't be too hard on yourself, Scully. You know your partner best and once he's latched onto something, he's like a pit bull." Scully knew that he was right but it didn't make her feel any better.

"Were there any signs of foul play?" Scully asked.

Alyssa noted the worry and fear in Scully's voice and the tension that was building in her body, as she continued to get the details on what had happened to Mulder. She had hoped that she was not too late. That she had acted quickly enough to avoid a disaster. Yet, though she had denied it, she knew that she had been too late the moment she had set foot into Scully's apartment. Her only chance of finding him now was to work with Scully.

Alyssa knew that this could be difficult. She sensed that Scully had never truly accepted her as being a product of Mulder's DNA. She'd look for Mulder herself, but she was unwilling to use her power until she had a solid lead on where to start looking. She didn't want to weaken at a critical moment when Mulder might need her. Though she found it hard to conceive of him being in a situation where she needed to use her power to protect him, and yet her dreams seemed to warn her that she soon would. Besides, Scully knew him better than anyone. She could probably find him on just sheer determination and her own innate ability that was part of the bond that they shared.

Alyssa was pulled back from her thoughts when Scully hung up the phone.

"This is why you came, isn't it?" Scully asked.

"Yes, it is."

"How did you know? How did you know that something had happened to Mulder?" Scully was getting suspicious. She had never been truly convinced of the sincerity of Alyssa's claims. And for all she knew, Alyssa could be involved in Mulder's disappearance.

"I understand your hesitancy to believe me, Dana," she replied. "If I were you, I would be hesitant to. But for the last week I have been having these dreams. Dreams where Mulder was dying. I think that you know of what I'm speaking."

**How could she possibly know,** she thought, **that I've been dreaming about Mulder being in danger.** Scully disregarded the thought as soon as it popped into her head.

"Dana, how can you so easily disregard that which has always been a part of you?" she asked surprising Scully. "Those leaps in logic that have always led you back to Mulder when he needed you? They all came from that part of you that you continue to deny."

"How would you know?" If she wasn't sufficiently suspicious before, she was now.

"I know because I've been keeping track of you and Mulder," she said, trying to convince Scully of her sincerity. "I was concerned that, after I left you in Boston, you would need some protection. There was always a slim chance that, because you and Mulder helped me, They would seek some kind of retribution. I now know for certain that, right now, you seem to be more important to Them alive. This month had been so slow for both of you. I wasn't paying you both the attention I should have."

Scully stood for a moment, watching the woman in front of her. She wasn't sure if she still trusted who Alyssa said she was; but she was now convinced that, whether or not she was really a genetically altered clone, a chimera, Alyssa believed it to be true. She could see it in the passionate way in which she spoke of Mulder. The intensity of her desire to protect him almost made her jealous. It had been her job for so long that she was unwilling to share the responsibility. Regardless of what she thought of her, she would need Alyssa's help in Washington.

"You won't regret this, Dana." Again, Scully was surprised by the seeming response to her thoughts.


	3. Chapter 3

Route 2

8:00 AM

Alyssa unzipped her bomber jacket and began to take a few deep breaths.  It was always easier to start this way. It made for clearer visions.  She steadily began to relax her body, going through the motions.  She started with her shoulders, worked her way through her arms and down through her body all the way to her toes.  Finally she opened up her mind, and there it was. The way it had happened. It had taken her but a moment to weave her way through the impressions left behind by the police and the FBI agents that had originally searched the scene.

She wasn't sure when it had happened. Possibly when the dreams had started. She wasn't sure yet if they had been precognitive or had started the moment there was a serious threat to Mulder. At the moment though, finding out what had happened on this lonely road, was her only lead. Their only lead. 

The first thing she saw was a woman. She had short curly brown hair and wore sunglasses with a baseball cap pulled far enough down that Alyssa couldn't make out her face. She was standing by an old run down jeep that had looked like it had seen better days. The hood was up and she stood looking back towards the way she must have come. A car was approaching. It slowed as it neared, then came to a complete stop not five feet from where Alyssa now stood.

She recognized him as soon as he got out of the car. It was Mulder. He looked so relaxed, in his jeans and leather jacket.  He had approached the woman, taking the shell of a sunflower seed out of his mouth before saying hello.  She spoke to him, telling him of her trouble with her jeep. How it had finally run its last mile. Mulder had offered to give her a lift back to Skykomish and she had accepted. They had both moved to the back of her jeep to retrieve some things when, as Mulder leaned in to retrieve a bag, the woman had made her move.

He must have seen it coming as he looked up into the jeep's rearview mirror, or caught a glimpse of the movement from the corner of his eye, either way, he caught the blow on his shoulder before it could find its mark. Alyssa watched as Mulder went on the offensive and instinctively swung at his attacker, missing her face but knocking her cap and sunglasses off. That was the moment of his undoing. He wasn't prepared for whom he'd seen before him. That was all she had needed to take him out.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxx

Scully stood by the driver's side of the car. It was cold, and the three-quarter suede coat that she wore over her jeans and denim shirt didn't seem to be providing her the warmth that it usually did. She watched as Alyssa walked towards the point of the ditch where Mulder's car had been dumped, and later found. All she seemed to hear were the slight thuds coming from Alyssa's own hiking boots. It was hard for her to stand there and watch as this woman _tapped_ into residue energy patterns.

"Alyssa, let's go, this is pointless." It had been five minutes and Scully was already getting impatient. 

Alyssa didn't respond. Scully assumed that she must not have heard her so she called out one more time before walking up and putting her hand on her shoulder.  It was like being thrown into ice water. The moment Scully placed her hand on Alyssa's shoulder she found herself watching as Mulder pulled to the side of the road to help some stranded woman. Leave it to Mulder to find a 'damsel in distress' in the middle of nowhere.

She watched as he approached the battered old jeep and its owner. Watched as they moved to the back of the jeep to get some bags. Watched as the woman reached into her pocket for a small club and prepared to strike.  Scully acted on instinct, as she had always acted in order to protect her partner; she reached for her Sig. just as Mulder brought his fist up. All at once the image was gone. Mulder, the woman, and the jeep disappeared from where they were as if they'd never been. It was like someone had slammed a door in her face.

Scully realized that what she had seen was the result of her contact with Alyssa. They had only been observers in a drama that had been played out, possibly days before.  She again brought her hand up to touch Alyssa; this time she was prepared for the shock of contact, she wanted to know what had happened to Mulder. When she tuned in this time, the woman had just finished readjusting her cap and sunglasses. Mulder was lying at her feet.

His assailant then made some space in the back of the jeep and then turned to drag Mulder closer to it. She steadily began to hoist him into the back compartment then reached into Mulder's coat pocket to retrieve the keys to his rental, which she proceeded to drive into the ditch, before getting into her jeep and driving off.

That was it. Alyssa came out of her trance-like state. She had been aware of the moment Scully had made contact. She didn't know that it was possible for such a thing to happen. That Scully could link up with her and see what she saw. But once she had accepted her presence she ignored Scully and concentrated on the scene being played out before them.

The sight of the woman's face had shocked her. Alyssa felt as if the wind had been knocked out of her. **Had Scully seen it?** she thought. She knew that there was a moment when Scully had lost contact, but she didn't know at what point.

"My God." Scully said. The distress was evident in her voice. "I'm sorry I doubted you.  We've got to find him, Alyssa." Scully dipped into her coat pocket and pulled out her cell phone to call the Seattle field office so they could put a trace on the jeep's license plate.

Putting the shock, and the woman, aside for the moment, Alyssa turned to examine the area around her, hoping to find something that the forensics team had missed. She found what she was looking for on the other side of the road. It must have fallen from the jeep as Mulder was unceremoniously hoisted in. It was a small brochure for a lodge located at Lake Wenatchee. The lodge boasted many types of water activities, and for those seeking privacy, cabins located at various points about the lake just far enough from each other to provide complete privacy.

**This must be where she took Mulder,** she thought. She just hoped that they were not too late.

"What did you find?" Scully asked as she came up from behind. 

"Oh," Alyssa started. "It's just some old brochure. I was hoping that it was something important. A clue to Mulder's whereabouts, but it's nothing," she lied, crumpling up the brochure.

"In that case, I can sympathize. The license plate was a bust," Scully said as she watched Alyssa discard the piece of paper. "It turns out that the jeep was stolen last week. I kind of figured that would be a dead end, but I was hoping that there would be a chance."

They both paused, waiting for the other to say something. Finally, Scully broke the silence.

"What are you thinking? Did you recognize the woman that jumped Mulder?" Scully asked hopefully.

"How where you able to tap into what I was seeing?" Alyssa asked. She wanted to avoid talking about what the woman looked like. Someone she most assuredly did recognize.

"What?" Scully replied, a bit taken aback by the sudden change in subject. "I don't know."

"Has it ever happened before?"

"No," Scully said, annoyed.  She recognized the change in subject for what it was and felt her suspicion rise.  "You didn't answer my question. Did you recognize the woman?"

"I've never met anyone that looked even remotely like her." **Not a total lie**, she thought, **I never had the pleasure of actually meeting the woman.** "Did you recognize her?"

"Actually," Scully replied, crinkling her brow. "I didn't get a chance to see her face. I lost contact at that point." She felt a tingling sensation in her head that she couldn't quite shake.

"Why don't we head back to Skykomish? There may be people there that we could question. If Mulder made a stop there, someone may have seen him. It's possible that someone may have seen the woman there to."

Alyssa had noticed the look on Scully's face and knew that it was just a matter of time before Scully discovered that she was the cause of the tingling in her head. She needed Scully distracted if she was going to follow through with the plan she was already formulating in her mind.

"Well, it's not as if we have any other leads. Are you sure that brochure is nothing?" Scully asked, looking down at the crumpled piece of paper.

"Trust me. It's nothing," Alyssa said, heading towards the car. She stopped when she noticed that Scully wasn't behind her. "Coming?"

"Yeah, right behind you." As soon as Alyssa turned her back, Scully scooped up the discarded piece of paper and put it in her pocket. For some reason, on some level, she knew it was important; yet, at the same time she found herself thinking that Alyssa was right and it was nothing. Who knows? Maybe it was nothing, but better safe than sorry.


	4. Chapter 4

Mulder woke with a start. He was disoriented and had no idea where he was. Most importantly, his body ached all over. His head was throbbing and he felt pain all through his back and legs. He couldn't quite remember what had happened, and then it all came back to him. He had called and told Scully not to expect him back for a couple of days. He'd wanted to check out a story he had read about in the local paper. Several people had reported seeing lights in the sky just east of Skykomish. He was approaching the location of the sightings when he had noticed a jeep pulled over to the side of the road. At first he had thought that the woman was there, like him, to see if she could spot the lights. When she told him that her jeep had broken down he had been more than happy to give her a hand. It was an opportunity to find out more about this woman. There was something about her that seemed so familiar.

And then it happened. If he'd glanced up a second later it would have been a second too late. As it was, it hadn't made a difference anyway. He had knocked her cap and sunglasses off and finally realized why he had found her so familiar. And then nothing; she had taken him out with a single blow. One moment of hesitation was all she had needed.  Now, here he was. From what little light there was coming from a dirty window, it looked like he was in a cellar. The floor was covered in dust about an inch thick and the only thing in the room was the mattress that he laid upon.

Looking around, he saw what most assuredly were the drag marks left behind by his own body. He followed the trail to where the door should have been but the trail ended in the middle of the floor.  As Mulder moved to get up, he heard the slight clink of metal against metal.  Before he could discern the sound's origin, he heard the sound of a bolt being slammed open and a bright light shone down from an opening that appeared from the ceiling. Blinded by the sudden glare, Mulder could only raise his arm up to shield his eyes. He moved his arm slightly, just in time to see a ladder being lowered from the opening and the silhouette of a woman climbing down. He didn't need to see her face to know who it was.

"What's going on, Samantha?" Mulder demanded through clenched teeth. "You pissed off because you let your triple 'A' membership expire?" He couldn't help but feel a sense of betrayal at being nabbed by his own sister, even if she were just a clone.

"Why, Fox, aren't you glad to see me?" she asked, as she stepped off the ladder and faced him. "How do you feel? When I dropped you down the ladder I was sure that I'd broken your neck. No such luck I'm afraid."

Those few words were enough to tell Mulder to tread lightly. He wasn't sure what she had planned for him but he was sure he'd find out in the next few moments.

"I suppose you're wondering why you're here. Well, let me tell you. I have brought you here to correct a grievous wrong that was done many years ago. It is because of you that my life has been nothing but hell from the day I was created."

"Me?" he said in disbelief. "I wasn't the one who created you. The Syndicate's responsible for that. If there is anyone to blame it's them."

"You don't get it, do you?" she hissed, coming closer. "Samantha should never have been the one to be taken. You were the one that they wanted, not I . . . not Samantha. You were her favorite, though. Her first born. So they had to settle for Samantha instead." She had begun pacing the floor now. Spitting out her words like daggers. "I wasn't good enough, though. They trained me to be the perfect killing machine. To be like a Hunter, but I wasn't good enough for them.  They said I was flawed. They said I was unstable."

"Whatever gave them that idea?"

"You go to hell, Fox!" she shouted, stopping dead in her tracks pointing her finger at him. "They had planned on terminating me and replacing me with The Other. Even she had her flaws. Yet, they considered her salvageable. She didn't have the power that I possessed," she said as she placed her hands upon her chest.  "Not even the killer instinct that they wanted. They were willing to let her live, though. Don't you see?  I was again considered second rate. Subject to seeing lesser versions of myself as nothing but pitiful, unthinking drones."

"That's not my fault." Mulder whispered.

"It doesn't matter if you think it's your fault or not! All that matters is that you will pay for it. I will show them what a great asset I can be by destroying you." Samantha once again began to pace the floor. Her hands would go up to her head every once in awhile and she would shut her eyes tightly, as if she were in pain. "Your partner is near, Fox. She came looking for you like I knew she would," she said, opening her eyes and focusing on Mulder. Then, closing her eyes once more, "And she's brought someone else with her. It's The Other. I believe you think of her as your sister, am I right?" she asked smiling.  "Wonderful, two for one."

"You leave them alone!" Mulder shouted, bracing his hands at the edge of the mattress. "If you're going to kill me, kill me! Just leave them out of this!"

"Oh, but dear, dear Fox, when I said I was going to destroy you, I didn't mean that I would kill you. No, sweat brother, I plan on killing everyone you love and having you watch. And the first one up will be the one you hold most dear.  Your partner Scully."

"You Bitch!" Mulder shouted. He lunged forward only to nearly choke himself and fall flat onto his back. He now realized what had made that clinking sound. It had been the chain that connected the leather strap he now felt around his neck, to the wall behind him. He had been in too much pain before to pay much attention to the weight around his neck, but its presence had become all too clear to him now.

"Did I forget to mention the chain, Fox? Don't worry," Samantha said, "it won't matter to you once I'm through with Scully. I'll so enjoy making her suffer before your eyes. I plan to make it last for hours. I hear she's a strong one.  Hard to kill.  All the better," she smiled, and then headed for the ladder. "See you later. I'm off to catch me a couple of birds."

Mulder could do nothing but lie on the floor and gasp for air as he watched the clone climb the ladder.

"If . . . you touch them . . ." he hissed, "I will . . . kill you . . . no matter the cost."  Her only reply was the closing of the door and the sound of the bolt sliding into place. All he heard was sound of her laughter as he listened to her walk away.

Mulder gradually rolled to his side trying to get some slack on the chain. His only hope was to figure out a way to get out of there and warn Scully. If he couldn't escape, he prayed that Fox could hold her own against Samantha, because if what she said was true, the clone was more powerful than his she was.


	5. Chapter 5

Skykomesh

Holiday Inn

3:45 PM

It had been a long day. Scully picked up her coat and walked out of the hotel dinning room, heading to her room. Alyssa had left a few minutes before she had, muttering something about getting some rest before they checked out two more possible leads. Scully thought that getting rest sounded like a great idea. Her head had been tingling all day. She had attributed it to worry over Mulder and exhaustion. She hadn't been able to sleep since Alyssa had shown up on her doorstep the night before.

Scully stuck her hand into one of the pockets of her coat and pulled out her room key. As she did, the brochure, which Alyssa had discarded by the roadside, fell out. She had forgotten all about it until this moment. Scully looked at it again, this time actually reading it. The description of the cabins seemed to make them an ideal place for someone who had something, or someone, to hide. It suddenly didn't seem like the 'nothing' Alyssa had made it out to be.  Scully put her coat on and turned around. She had some work to do.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxx

After leaving Scully in the dinning room, Alyssa had gone straight to her room and changed into a dark brown jumpsuit and a pair of rubber soled boots. She then grabbed a bag from under her bed and, having double checked its contents, walked out the door and headed out towards the parking lot and the rental Scully had checked out at the airport. 

Her plan was simple: she would head out to the lodge, find out which cabin would most likely be the one to contain Mulder, and get him out as fast as possible without getting either of them killed.

**Yeah. Right.** If this clone of Samantha was who she thought she was then Alyssa was going to be in a world of trouble.

6:00 PM

Lake Wenatchee

As soon as she had gotten there she'd headed straight to the main house where the front desk was located. Through an open door behind the desk she could hear the voice of Della Reese heralding the opening song of Touched By An Angel and the sound of popcorn popping in a microwave. She was lucky that it was the off-season or, she suspected, the desk would never have been so ill attended.

Alyssa made her way to the desk and peaked over it to find the computer logged on and, adjusting the monitor as she pulled the keyboard to her, typed in a name. There it was right in front of her: Samantha Mulder. She had checked that name just to get the obvious out of the way, but seeing it in front of her made her realize that this woman had expected to be found. Knowing that a trap had been set and that 'Samantha' didn't care that she knew it, did nothing to boost her confidence. She was now more than a little relieved that she had ditched Scully back in Skykomesh. Mulder would never forgive her if something happened to his partner.

Placing the keyboard back, Alyssa headed around back towards the small boat yard, particularly the area where the small speedboats were docked. The cabin where Mulder was being kept was located across the lake in the cabin furthest from the main house and all others. The quickest and most logical approach would be by water to a point just before a bend in the lake that would take her directly to the small cove in front of the cabin.

Using the water would be dangerous, though. Back when she was still under Syndicate control, she'd heard whispers of an earlier hybrid cloning experiment. The First, or Alpha as the clone was then called, had developed the same abilities that she was thought to never achieve. **Alpha,** she reflected thinking of the Vesper, the name she had been given, **names were never their strong point.**  Names aside, the power that Alpha wielded meant that she too could channel energy and the last place that Alyssa and Mulder needed to be was knee deep in one of nature's most natural of conductors. But she'd worry about that later, for now she had some rigging to do.

Xxxxxxxxxx

6:45 PM

Samantha's especially keen hearing picked up the engine of a speedboat as it approached then cut off, somewhere beyond the bend to the cove. She'd known that they would be so desperate to get Mulder back that they would choose the quickest route to him. She had sensed them near and had stopped tracking them as soon as she had. In her own twisted way, she felt that by capturing them without her second sense she would be proving to the Syndicate that even without it she could get things done.

She could feel the blood coursing through her veins. Hear her heart beat loudly in her ears. Her body throbbed with so much excited energy that she had to share the news with her 'beloved brother.' She needed to let him know that, in the next 30 minutes, he would be witness to the beginning of the end of his beloved partner and his so called 'sister.' Walking into the house, she couldn't help but skip to the beat of her raving heart.


	6. Chapter 6

Ditched yet again, Scully was understandably pissed. After having checked Alyssa's room, she had walked out onto the parking lot just in time to see her take off in their rental. It was bad enough that she had to put up with this from Mulder. He always sought to protect her and thought that the best way to accomplish this was to take off on some foolhardy mission.  She should have known that Alyssa wouldn't be different. **When are people going to realize that I can take care of myself?**

It was thirty minutes before she was able to acquire another vehicle and take off after Alyssa. And it took her two and a half-hours to reach the lodge.  Scully got out of the Jeep Cherokee and headed straight for the main house and the front desk. She was about to hit the bell when she noticed that the computer was logged on and turned towards her. She didn't know if Alyssa had anticipated her arrival or not . . . for with her, who knew? . . . But there it was displayed in front of her, the name and location of the person responsible for Mulder's abduction: Samantha Mulder.

"Oh my God," she whispered. She couldn't even begin to imagine what Mulder was going through but she had a good idea.  If this was another clone of his sister. . . Scully knew that she had to get to him. She just prayed to God that she wasn't too late.

Xxxxxxxxxx

Mulder heard the latch give on the cellar hatch above his head and quickly stashed away the stone chip he'd been using unsuccessfully to cut through the leather strap at his neck. The light wasn't as intense as it had been before and Samantha didn't bother coming down this time. Instead he saw that she had lain down on the floor above and had propped her chin on top of her hands.  Mulder approached the opening carefully and glanced up into a smile that could rival that of the Cheshire Cat.

"Well, don't you just look pleased with yourself.  Tell me, did you just eat Mickey or did you manage to gobble up the Mousketeers too?"

"Now, Fox, didn't mother ever tell you that it was impolite to tease?  Anyway, that doesn't matter. I have something to tell you."

As he watched her, he could practically see her body glow from all the excitement she tried to contain. Even her eyes glowed, figuratively and literally, like the anticipation of a child about to share a big secret. Mulder didn't dare ask what it was that had gotten her so excited. That was a question of which he had already guessed, and dreaded, the answer. He didn't have to wait long before she told him anyway.

"I'll give you a hint. One bird looks like you but sings a prettier, if weak, tune," she said in a singsong voice.  "The other bird tweaks your beak and sings a song just for you. That's right, Fox, they're here." With that last note, the clone slammed the hatch shut and left Mulder staring at cracked and decaying wood.

He thought it ironic that it was that view which led him to a realization. The cabin was old. Very old. And that meant that the chain, which was anchored in old mortar, might not be so soundly secure in the wall as he had previously thought. Wrapping his hands around the chain, Mulder braced his feet and steadily began to pull. At first there was nothing, then he heard the telling sound of the bolts starting to give.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxx

Scully stopped the jeep about a quarter of a mile down the road from the cabin.  It was less than that through the woods. Her gun at the ready, she began to circle the cabin from the tree line. The front of the cabin opened up onto a large lawn with a curved drive positioned towards the left that circled back onto the road. The right side of the cabin opened up to a large porch that stretched along its length with a narrow boardwalk extending 5 yards to a dock and a small speedboat. Scully continued to circle round to the left until she was nearly at the drive and could see the left side of the house more clearly. On that side she noticed small windows at the base of the cabin that were barely visible through the overgrown grass. The windows were probably those of a cellar in which she was sure Mulder was being kept. 

**Damn**, Scully thought, **the worst things always seem to happen to us in cellars.**

Scully decided that she would sit and wait. She hadn't seen any movement and she had no idea what Alyssa had planned. She did know that she wasn't leaving here without Mulder, even if she had to take 'Samantha' out to do it. It was then that she heard it. Actually it had been more of a feeling than anything else, and she ducked down just in time to avoid a blow to her head. There, right behind her, she brought her gun up to point at a woman who was the spitting image of Samantha Mulder.

"Hello, Dana. Nice move. Can you do it again?"

Samantha took another swing, which Scully sidestepped, but not before her gun was knocked form her hand. She was then caught hard in the side by a powerful kick. Scully barely had time to recover before she received another forceful blow to the temple a second later. Down on the ground, Scully looked up through bleared eyes into the face of a mad woman and knew that, if she didn't act quickly, she wouldn't have another chance.


	7. Chapter 7

Samantha was smug with the overconfidence that came from downing Scully so quickly. She stared down at the dazed agent and saw her as small and weak.  Although she, herself, was not much taller than Scully, she saw it as an advantage in herself. Because she was small, people didn't perceive her as a threat and tended to underestimate her. Samantha should have seen that the same applied to Scully; she was taken by total surprise by the leg that swung around and swept her off her feet. She hit the ground hard and looked over to see Scully roll to the side and reach for her gun. Samantha was angry with herself for showing such weakness and shot out toward the gun, snatching it up the moment before Scully reached it, and bringing it up to point directly at Scully as she slowly rose to her feet. She stood looking down at Scully as she crouched where the gun once lay.

"You almost had me there, Dana," she smiled. "What's the phrase? Ah, yes.  'Close, but no cigar.'" Then she aimed Scully's weapon and fired.

Xxxxxxxxxx

Alyssa was just emerging from the tree line when she heard the sound of a gunshot. She stood still and listened. From where she stood, by the dock and the lone speedboat, she could tell that the shot had originated from the opposite side of the cabin. She waited for the sound of a second shot, or any sound at all, but nothing came. She continued her trek towards the cabin quietly, yet faster than she had previously been moving. The shot could have meant anything and the sooner she found out what, the better.

Circling around the back of the cabin, she kept her back to wall and edged her head to peak around the corner. She was dismayed at what she saw. There, standing just inside the tree line, was Alpha; and lying at her feet was the body of a woman with red hair. She watched as Alpha tucked a gun under her belt and then stooped down to grab the legs of the still agent. Alyssa looked, but couldn't detect any sign of movement coming from Scully and she dared not touch her mind to check if she were alive. She was going to have to act under the assumption that she was alive, because she knew that dead or alive, Mulder was not going to leave his partner behind.

Alyssa waited until they had made it to the front of the cabin and were no longer visible, before she turned the corner completely and approached the front herself. She stopped halfway there to glance into one of the windows off the main living room. There she watched as Alpha dragged Scully across the floor, a trail of blood marking their passage. Scully needed help quickly. At the apparent rate of blood loss, she would bleed to death if she didn't get help soon.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxx

Mulder had managed to pull out two of the bolts in the wall and was working on getting the second two when he heard a door being slammed open above him. He stood and listened as something was dragged across the floor a few feet. Then he heard the sound of something being dropped.

"What's she doing up there…?"

The next sound that he heard came from the window above his head. He watched as the edges of it sparked then slowly parted from the frame as it opened. First one hand then another gripped the edge of the window and slowly pushed it forward. He had never been so relieved to see the face of his sister peaking through a window.

"Mulder?" Alyssa whispered.

Mulder came to the window and reached up to clasp her hand, "And here I thought that I was the one most likely to be a peeping tom."

"Mulder, we don't have much time. I'm sure she'll be coming straight down. The woman who took you, the only thing that she has in common with your sister is her face. The similarities end there. She's like me, Mulder, only stronger. They called her Alpha and she was the strongest and most insane of their experiments.  I don't know if I can defeat her. So you'll have to be prepared when she comes.  She's got Scully."

The gunshot took them both by surprise. It had come from outside, behind Alyssa.  The next thing that she was aware of was the sticky wet feeling spreading under her. She glanced down in disbelief as blood gradually darkened her jumper. She looked up and registered a look of horror coming from her brother before releasing his hand and turning to face her attacker. There stood Alpha, with such a gleam of triumph that it made Alyssa sick. The pain hadn't registered yet and she took advantage of that and lunged at Alpha, missing her and collapsing to the ground. The last thing that Alyssa heard was the manic laughing of a madwoman, and then all she could feel was the pain coursing through her chest.


	8. Chapter 8

Mulder was in shock. He had instinctively reached for his sidearm and found nothing. Instead he jumped up and tried to reach Alyssa through the window but she was just beyond his reach.

"Damn it, you freak, I'll kill you!" he shouted.

Alpha did nothing but smile at him. She stepped closer to Alyssa and shoved her onto her back with her foot. She watched as Alyssa curled up from the pain, gripping her chest, as if trying to keep the blood from exiting her body.

"This was almost too easy, Fox. I thought that I would have had more of a challenge."

"What do you mean?" Mulder asked, desperation making its way into his voice as he tried to stall for time to think of something, anything that would get them out of this.  "Where's Scully?"

Alpha smiled and began to walk away. "I'll be right back. Do be a dear and watch your sister for me."

Mulder could do nothing but watch as Alyssa writhed in pain and blood began to flow from her mouth. It was accompanied by a sickening gurgling noise as Alyssa's lungs began to fill with her own blood. Mulder then turned to the sound of the latch being thrown at the opening of the cellar, and his thoughts went to the last words that had come from his sister's mouth. **_'She's got Scully.'_**

The first thing he saw was Alpha as she poked her head down. She had a crooked smile and a wicked gleam in her eye that caused Mulder's apprehension to rise.

"Got something for you, Fox," she said, glancing at something to the side. "Or should I say someone?"

Alpha dropped the ladder and started down. She stopped halfway to reach for something on the floor above. It was at that moment that time slowed down for Mulder. All he could hear was the pounding of his heart as it grew louder and louder like a crescendo. He felt his body go cold and he lost all sense of where he was. All his focus was on that opening which Alpha reached through. The first thing he saw were a pair of booted feet as she slowly pulled a body from the floor above.

Mulder watched as Alpha pulled the body towards her and down.  Grabbing material, pulling at it, then grabbing some more. Grab. Pull. Grab. Pull. Hand over hand until finally she let go and a limp form fell and crumpled to the floor below. His heart stopped. All he could see was the crumpled form of his partner lying on the floor with her beautiful red hair covering a pale and still face. The world ended for him at that moment. The lifeless image of his partner was forever seared into his memory. He almost didn't hear Alpha's next words.

"Surprise!!" she yelled, hopping down off the ladder. She crouched down next to Scully and grabbed a handful of her hair. "Not very lively is she? At least that wannabe outside writhed in pain. Dana here wasn't as entertaining, though she did put up more of a fight than that 'sister' of yours did. I tell you, Fox, you should have seen the look on Dana's face right before I shot her with her own gun."

Mulder snapped at that moment. Still holding the chain, he lunged at his adversary and the final bolts came free from the wall. He didn't even make it halfway there before a bolt of energy caught him in the chest and threw him back against the wall where he slowly slid down to the floor. The pain he felt was unbearable. He felt as if hundreds of needles were pricking him over every square inch of his body.

"Do I sense some pent up hostility, Fox? Are you having some issues with controlling your anger?" Alpha stepped around Scully then looked down as her foot slid on something wet. "Damn it! Your partner is bleeding all over the floor. Don't worry, though. I can fix that. I can't exactly have her bleed to death before we've had any fun."

Alpha placed her hand over Scully and released a short burst of energy. The bolt struck Scully in the shoulder, causing her whole body to shudder and jolt as her wound cauterized. She awoke with a start and a scream that dwindled into a silent cry of pain as she gripped her left arm and watched as tendrils of smoke came from her shoulder.  Alpha smiled at the pain she had wrought, knowing that this was just the beginning.

"Would you like to feel what she's feeling?" Approaching Mulder, she knelt down in front of him and placed her hands on either side of his head. "Now hold still, this will hurt. A lot."

With a jolt, Mulder was inside his partner's mind. Feeling what she was feeling.  Excruciating pain surged through his body, flowing from his shoulder to the tips of his toes and back again. He could 'hear' her cry out his name. Beg for his help and all that Mulder could do was writhe on the floor in agony until finally the pain became a bit more sufferable as Scully gradually began to lose consciousness.

"Tell me, brother, how did it feel?"

"I'll kill you." He whispered. "If it's the last thing I do, I'll kill you."

"You'll have to catch me first, and I don't think you'll be in a walking mood after I break one of your legs."

Mulder cried out as first his leg, then his shoulder pulsed with agony and his heart broke upon seeing that Scully watched him with tear filled eyes. She had grabbed her right leg with her one good arm, and Mulder knew then that the connection was still in place and that it went both ways.

"Don't ever presume that you can ever beat me," she said. The look on her face was calculated, cold. "And seeing as the chain is now unnecessary, I might as well take it. Wouldn't want you using it in an inappropriate manner. Besides that, I have one more bird to fry. There's a girl out there that needs to learn that I cannot be replace."

Removing the chain, Alpha picked it up and headed for the ladder. As soon as he heard the latch slide into place, Mulder slowly began to drag himself towards his partner. The pain had subsided, meaning that Scully must have passed out again. It took him but a moment to finally reach her, but it felt much longer.  Mulder avoided touching her at first. He was at the point where he felt that the slightest touch from him could bring her more pain and misery. Finally he started to smooth back her hair.

"Scully? Wake up. Come on now. I'm sorry. I never meant for any of this to happen." Scully was still unresponsive. Her clothing was burned into her wound so he made no attempt at clearing it away for fear that he would start its bleeding again.  Instead he removed his belt so that he could strap her arm to her chest in a makeshift sling. Grabbing her right arm, and supporting her back, Mulder carefully pulled Scully onto his chest, supporting her so that he could make the tortuous journey back to the mattress he had first found himself on just a few hours earlier.  The moment he laid her down he heard a cry of anger erupt from the window above.

"Where is she!?" Mulder supported himself on his good leg and peeked through the window. He could see Alpha passing, with barely contained rage, a patch of blood stained grass where he had last seen Alyssa. She was searching her surroundings, then the tree line for any sign that could tell her where Alyssa could have gone, but there was nothing. Then, in the distance, he heard the sound of a motor. In a blind rage, Alpha took off in that direction.  She was around the corner of the house and gone before he could even blink. He hoped to God that Alyssa makes it. At least she would be alive. It would be one less life on his conscience.

It had only been a couple of minutes since Alpha had taken off when he heard the latch above slowly disengage. **She couldn't have come back that quickly, could she?** he thought.

The hatch was pulled open to meet the floor above with a bang. And for the second time Mulder saw a sight for sore eyes. There was the unflappable Alyssa peeking through the opening strangely enough, not the worst for wear that Mulder would have expected to see.

"Hurry, Mulder. Can you get Scully up the ladder?"

"My leg's broken. It'll hurt like hell, but I'll make it happen."

"Don't worry, it won't hurt at all because your leg's not broken."

"What?" he asked surprised.

"Trust me."

Mulder didn't know why, but he believed her, and when he put his full weight on his leg, there was no pain. He stooped down and carefully picked up Scully. She groaned with pain as her shoulder experienced a slight shift. Mulder steadied and they were both relieved for the moment. The worst would come as he carried her up the ladder. One purpose that their connection seemed to serve was to allow him to know exactly what positions to take so as not to jostle her too much, saving her from any unnecessary pain.

Half way up the ladder, Mulder saw what he hadn't seen before. On closer inspection, he could see the strain on Alyssa's face. She was trying desperately to control it, but the slight quaking of her body was evident to his eyes. Not only that, but she was pale and there was a sheen of perspiration covering her face. She had apparently tried to clean up the blood from her chin but some of it still remained and continued to trickle out of the corner of her mouth and the wound in her chest appeared to maintain a steady flow.  Mulder looked back into her eyes and saw the knowledge that he would like to deny.  Alyssa was dying and she knew it.


	9. Chapter 9

Scully slowly came to. Her shoulder hurt like hell, but it felt more bearable than it had before. She opened her eyes just as Mulder reached the top of the ladder and began to ease her to the floor. As soon as she saw Alyssa she jerked up, much to both her regret, and she noticed, Mulder's.  Putting all thoughts of pain to the side for a moment, Scully forced herself to concentrate. It was difficult though; she kept getting these waves of guilt and worry from Mulder and sensing her thoughts he forced them aside for the moment. Turning her attention back to Alyssa, she saw the extent of her wound. At that moment the doctor in her took over and she totally disregarded any pain or discomfort that she had been feeling. She moved to examine Alyssa and knew that the wound was a fatal one. Alyssa shouldn't even be conscious. She seemed to be operating on sheer will alone.

"Mulder, grab that towel on the chair. We need to stop the bleeding.  Alyssa, how are you holding up?"

"I've seen better days," she replied with a slight smile.

Spotting the towel, Mulder retrieved it. Alyssa sat still, trying desperately to stay sitting up, while Mulder folded the towel and began to open the front of Alyssa's jumper so that he could carefully position the towel before covering her back up. 

"Alyssa' huh?" he asked, trying to distract her.  "What happened to 'Fox'?"

"It wasn't working," she replied with a slight smile as Mulder fixed the last button of her jumper in place.

Mulder returned her smile with a pained one.  As much as he wanted to let loose about the injustice of what was happening, Mulder was determined to hold himself together even though his hands shook with every move he made; it was more for Alyssa and Scully than for himself. It saddened Scully to know that she wasn't even able to provide him with the slightest bit of hope that this sister, at least, would make it.

Once Alyssa was taken care of, Scully quickly looked to herself. There was nothing that she could do about her shoulder, but she could walk. Indicating Alyssa to Mulder, Scully pulled herself up off the floor. Unsteady at first, she quickly got her feet back and walked to the window to see if things were clear.

Meanwhile Mulder had managed to carefully pick up Alyssa and join Scully at the door. Alyssa had no delusions about her condition.

"Mulder put me down."

"What?"

"Put me down. I'm staying here. Someone needs to stay behind and keep Samantha…Alpha occupied, and you two do not qualify. She may be more powerful than I am, but I have enough power of my own to give her a run for her money and you time to escape."

"That is not an option Alyssa."

"I don't have time to argue with you, Mulder. You should know I can make you leave but I'd rather conserve the energy."

"Alyssa, you're going with us," said Scully.

"Look, I'm not oblivious to my situation, and I know I won't make it. If this is going to be resolved, it has to be now, so go." With that, Alyssa began to push their minds. The link that Mulder and Scully now shared actually made it easier for her; it amplified the effect like reflecting light between two mirrors.

Alyssa was left supporting herself at the door as they hurried off towards Scully's jeep. She wasn't looking forward to dying. It wasn't as if she had a choice in the matter. Her only option was to choose how she was going to go out, and that involved taking Alpha out with her. There was too much at stake for Mulder to die now and he would need Scully if he were ever to achieve his ultimate goal: finding the truth, the answer to everything that he had been searching for his whole life.

Her only regret was not having been more involved in Mulder's life. She knew involvement would have endangered him, but deep down she believed that there could have been a way.  Regrets aside, Alyssa began to concentrate on amplifying her presence in an attempt to keep Alpha's attention focused on her. After she had been shot and left for dead, Alyssa realized that she wouldn't have much time before she would become too weak to stop Alpha. Focusing her mind, she began the tedious process of convincing her body that it was not injured, at the same time she gradually worked at Alpha's most vulnerable spot, her ego.

By boosting her ego, it was Alyssa's hope to make Alpha drop her guard, making her overconfident. Just enough so that her actions would go unnoticed. She had also counted on Alpha being too angry at having lost her to focus on her location and realize that the boat was just a decoy. A decoy that involved her powering up the boat by remote, so that it would speed towards the lodge. 

Now the time of reckoning was upon her and Alyssa found her hands trembling. Her heart began to race as she heard the roar of an approaching speedboat. She had seen the look on Alpha's face when she had run towards the small dock and hopped into the speedboat to pursue the decoy. It had been one of pure rage. As scary as the thought was, she hoped that Alpha still maintain that rage. It would make her more predictable, more controllable, and easier to outmaneuver; and in her current condition, she would need all the advantages she could get.


	10. Chapter 10

Mulder sped the jeep down the road towards the lodge. Neither one of them had said a word, nor did they need to. They were still connected by the bond that Alpha had created. It was strange that a bond that was designed to hurt them both actually seemed to be bringing them closer together. Stray thoughts had been bouncing between them since the bond had been created, but the feelings that they had were what really raged through. It was comforting to feel what the other was feeling without the usual interference of that unwritten rule that they had almost always followed. They never shared what they felt deep down.

The comfort continued as twilight finally came. Scully had now spent the past ten minutes trying to figure out why she and Mulder had given up so easily, especially Mulder. There was no explanation for it. Scully knew that she would have, very reluctantly, given in eventually, but Mulder would have had to have been dragged away. They both knew this to be true, yet neither could fathom why they had left. It was this same wondering that Scully had experienced earlier that day when she had found the brochure. She'd had it the whole day, was even curious about it when Alyssa had found it, yet never acted on the impulse to check it out. It was as that thought crossed her mind that they both instantly knew why they had left. Alyssa had made them go and they didn't even bat an eye as they had left her.

Mulder cursed himself for not realizing it sooner. The sensation was similar to, but not quite like, what Pusher had done to him. The only difference was that Alyssa had been less intrusive, yet more forceful, and she did not need to use any sort of vocal command. As angry as he was at himself for not staying, because of his connection to Scully he was slightly reassured by the fact that, no matter what, he would not have been able to resist.

Mulder turned to Scully who, before he could say a thing, was already pointing out a point in the road where he could turn around. They didn't have to say a word.

Xxx

Mulder and Scully pulled up to the cabin to see a sight neither one of them would ever forget. Before them stood Alyssa and Alpha burning brighter than the sun, yet neither was actually on fire. The light that came from them and between them was an electric blue. They stood there, each focused on the other, as energy bounced back and forth between them. Huge sparks would fly to the side, igniting patches of earth here and there. The light that surrounded Alpha was an intense dark blue, while an intense blue-white light surrounded Alyssa. Though they didn't move, it was apparent that their minds were locked in a contest of wills.

It was Mulder who spoke first. "It's like they are…"

" . . . Feeding off each other's energy."

"Yeah. The energy in the air is almost tangible."

Scully shared in the awe and wonder that Mulder felt and for the first time understood the fascination that he had always wanted to share with her. The moment, though, only lasted long enough for the reality of the situation to hit them both. It looked as if Alyssa was losing. The light around her was growing ever so slightly dimmer. The sparks of energy that struck the ground around her were becoming large and more frequent as her ability to absorb and redirect them weakened. There was only one way that Alyssa could possibly win now. So taking the chance that she might be right, Scully took off towards Alyssa hoping beyond hope that she wouldn't get herself electrocuted in the process.

Xx

Alyssa was trying to split her attention and do two things at once. On one front she was attempting to overpower her opponent by continually breaking down the walls of Alpha's mind so that she could destroy her from within; yet she battled to keep herself together so that she would live long enough to do it. It was just too much for her to handle. Her head pounded from the barrage that it was receiving. It was like she was working against a physical force and she found herself taking a step back. It was after another step back that she made what she believed to be her final decision.

Alyssa stopped trying to hold herself together and directed all her energy into one focused surge of energy. She visualized a high intensity laser searing its way through ice and used that image to focus the power of her mind and energy at Alpha. Alyssa slowly gained the ground she had lost, but it didn't seem to be enough. She was beginning to feel as if this battle would never end when she felt a sudden surge of energy envelop and reinforce her own. She could feel Scully slowly begin to focus her own mind on giving her as much strength of will as she could and through Scully, she felt Mulder do the same.

With the force that she now had Alyssa pushed forward and finally broke the barrier of Alpha's mind. Stray thoughts assaulted her as she made her way to the core. There was one thought in particular that took her by surprise, but she didn't have time to think about it if she were to press her advantage now. She had reached the core and Alpha was literally blown back 50 feet as the full onslaught of three minds assailed her.

The last rays of the sun slowly slid beyond the horizon as the three slowly approached Alpha's limp form. Smoke slowly rose from her body as stray sparks popped here and there all around her body. Alpha was still breathing as Alyssa bent down beside her.

"Was it worth it, Alpha? Was trying to get back into the good graces of The Syndicate really worth your life?"

"Of course it was," she whispered, "They are the salvation of this world.  Besides," she smiled. "I may not have been able to sufficiently torture Scully, but it was fun while it lasted."

The madness she saw in her eyes made Alyssa shudder down to the depths of her soul. Rolling her on her side, Alyssa pulled Scully's gun out from Alpha's belt and pointed it at her head.

"Tell me who I really am, Alpha, and I'll make this quick."

"Why should I? What good would it do you when, even though you have healed your wound, you will die anyway?"

Alyssa looked down at her chest and felt the spot where the bullet had exited her body. She hadn't realized what she had been doing as she had tried to contain her bleeding. All that remained was a large scar that tingled at the touch of her fingers. As miraculous as that was she knew that Alpha as right.  She wasn't going to live. Alyssa had crossed a threshold and used up more energy than she should ever have. What she had tried to avoid by limiting the use of her power, had come to pass. The small flicker of hope that had appeared at realizing she had healed herself lasted only long enough for her to make this realization.

It didn't matter though. That stray thought had shattered everything she knew to be true about her origins. She had in fact been stolen as a child and altered to meet the needs of the damned Syndicate. Telling her she was a clone was their way of controlling her. Keeping her leashed.  She had been fooled yet again by that Morley-smoking-bastard who had lead her to believe that she had been created solely from Mulder's DNA. It had been nothing more than another way to manipulate her and gain more leverage against Mulder should they ever need it.

Alyssa cocked the gun. She knew that Alpha was too arrogant, too insane, to ever tell her the truth about whom she really was. There was no point in holding back. If Alpha wasn't stopped here and now, she would only recover and come after Mulder and Scully again.

"If you kill me, you'll never find out who you are."

"You're right," Alyssa said, pulling the trigger. "I won't."


	11. Chapter 11

Washington DC

FBI Headquarters

One month later . . .

Fox Mulder still continued to relive the scene in his mind. He had watched as the woman, whom he'd come to call sister, won a battle to save their lives just to find out that she wasn't whom she thought she was. He watched as this same woman destroyed her only chance of ever finding out who she was before she died just to make sure that he and Scully would never be threatened by Alpha again.

Alyssa had collapsed after that. With Scully at his side, he had cradled Alyssa in his arms and made a pledge to her that he would do what he could to find out who she had been taken from. Pledged to let her family know that she had turned out to be an extraordinary person. Alyssa had gripped his hand and he could see in her eyes how much what he said had meant to her.

"That's not important, Mulder. The chances of you ever finding out where I came from are slim to none. No matter my origins, I still felt a connection to you and it does my heart good to know that, for a short time, you, and Scully, were my family. I could never be more proud."

Alyssa had then grabbed Scully's hand and used her power one last time before she closed her eyes for the final time. Mulder wiped a tear from his eye as he turned back to an open file on his desk.

He wanted to try and clear his head before Scully came into work. The one thing that he didn't want to do was to bring her down too. Alyssa's last act was to make the slight bond between them a permanent empathic one. It was that bond that had gotten him through the past month. He had always found it difficult communicating his emotions to Scully. It was now a relief to be able to share what he felt without having to say a word. His only worry was that he would become a burden to his partner.

At that thought, he felt Scully's presence as she was getting off the elevator. She was anxious about something that she wanted to share with him. Scully walked into the office, file in hand, and closed the door. She came around the desk so that she could perch herself on it by Mulder.

"You were thinking about her again." Hiding his feelings hadn't worked in time. That was the only thing that was different about their bond. She was better at discerning what he was trying to hide than he was at discerning her.

"Yeah. I can't get it out of my head that there had to have been something that I could have done to prevent all this." Mulder felt a wave of reassurance come over him as Scully put her file down and clasped one of his hands in both of hers.

"Mulder, trust me. We did all we could. There was nothing that we could have done differently that would have changed that."

"I know, Scully. Now all I have to do is believe it. What is it that you want to show me?"

Keeping his hand in one of hers, Scully picked up the file and laid it in front of Mulder.

"What's that?"

"This is the result of a DNA test that I had done after the first time we had gotten involved with Alyssa. I wanted to find out if what Alyssa had said then was true. That she'd been cloned from your DNA and had been altered. I had decided never to open it because I trust you, Mulder, but I had to at least make sure you had the opportunity to check should you ever have doubts. Circumstances being what they were after Alyssa died, I decided to finally read them. Mulder, regardless of what my feelings are about showing this to you, you have the right to know the results."

Mulder let go of Scully's hand and opened the file. He didn't know what to think, but he could feel his heart clenching.

"What does this mean, Scully?"

"I don't know that I can answer that, Mulder. The results were inconclusive. You and Alyssa did share some common genetic traits, though the idea that she was cloned from your DNA can be almost completely ruled out." Scully paused for a moment and looked into Mulder's eyes, not sure that she wanted to continue but knowing that she had to and that he wanted her to. "Mulder, I don't know how, and because of all the genetic manipulation that's been done there's no way to be sure, but Alyssa was related to you."

Mulder could do nothing but drop his head and stare at his hands as he felt his heart break. He thought that it could get no worse. The realization that his sister may now be truly dead was overwhelming. Scully touched his cheek and he in turn pulled her toward him and wrapped his arms around her. Holding her tightly, he listened to the beat of her heart as she brought her arms up to cradle his head. He found comfort in its persistent pounding and was taken by surprise by the feelings of love that were coming from his partner. He found that she was just as surprised as her feelings were returned.

End for now.

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